Doable Challenge: Make a Healthy Lunch with Leftovers

by Megan O. Steintrager

on 09/23/13 at 09:00 AM

I often say that the only people who don't like leftovers are those who don't have to cook for themselves. I have no problem eating the same dinner two or three nights in a row, but since our current Doable Challenge is about Healthy Homemade Lunches, this week I'd like to focus on leftovers for lunch rather than dinner. Having a healthy midday meal can be as simple as doubling up on a healthy dinner that reheats well, like soup, stew, or chili, or making extra of a pasta or pilaf that tastes as good at room temperature as it does hot. Or, you can make a double, triple, or quadruple batch of staples like grains, pasta, or beans, to be used through out the week. I also often use a number of different leftover "scraps" (a bit of cooked fish, chicken, or steak, a hard boiled egg, roast vegetables) along with some quinoa or whole wheat pasta and greens to make a hearty salad for lunch. Registered dietitian Tina Ruggierio, who I interviewed for the lunch challenge, takes a similar approach with sandwiches: She mashes leftover cooked salmon with Greek-style yogurt and capers for a satisfying sandwich filling. Read on for ways to use leftover fish, chicken, vegetables, pasta, and grains. Your challenge for this week is simple: Utilize leftovers for at least one healthy lunch.

Pasta, Noodles, and Grains: When it comes to pasta or noodle salad recipes, I've found you can improvise quite a bit and use whatever cooked pasta or grain you have on hand, say, by using leftover whole wheat linguini instead of rice noodles in this Thai Chicken Salad.

See Epi's Leftovers for Lunch for two dozen more ideas, and share your favorite ways to use leftovers for lunch in the comments section.